TEHRAN, November 20 - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in the Philippines Tuesday for his first state visit to the country, a traditional US ally that is a key prize as Beijing and Washington jostle for supremacy in the Pacific.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - China won a windfall partner with the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has rattled the Philippines' century-old bond with the US while courting trade and investment from the rising American rival.
Manila has said it hopes the two-day stopover, the first from a Chinese president in 13 years, will finally net signed deals for investment in major infrastructure projects promised by Beijing when Duterte visited two years ago.
China has dispersed tens of billions of dollars in loans since 2013 as it expands its political influence globally, countering the American hegemony that characterised the post-World War II order, especially in Asia.
However, even before Xi's expected arrival Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of protestors descended on the Chinese embassy to voice opposition to closer ties with Beijing.
"Philippines is not for sale," the marchers chanted, as some brandished signs saying "China out of Philippine waters" in reference to a long-running dispute over the South China Sea.
Duterte has enthusiastically embraced Xi, even setting aside a key 2016 ruling from an international tribunal that declared as without basis Beijing's expansive claim over the waterway.
Source: AFP
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